Warning for Project Managers
The ability and meticulously as a manager in the lifespan of the projects is very important. The responsibility to show astounding results within pursuing time efficiency, cost efficiency, and scope of the projects are increasing, parallel with the exponential growth of innovation. Adopting current technology trends, should be examined by managers around the world. The error variables in some projects could be dwindled by entailing the way we use technology as a project manager. Further, the mitigation of any failure in future projects could be accomplished.
The notion to use current technology in managing construction may hear cliché, especially for the managers with starkly latch on to old stuff and their experiences. But, if we could give a vast area for the technology to deep in, there will be good repercussions on this. The result will be enticing, starting from the preparation stage to the execution stage.
Aside from technology, adaptability the way we manage within global problems, becomes irresistible. The Covid-19 outbreak is one of example which is muddling every sector around the world, managing projects is one of them. As a result of the pandemic, time delay of the project increased, with troubles varying from logistics and human capital, to the cashflow of the owner or company.
Strake forward, from the author point of view, there are three warning points for project managers to think about, to achieve better results in managing projects in the future:
Finance, Social, Environment, and Policy are important variables to contemplate.
Those 4 (four) aspects, should be implied very carefully by managers. As maybe some of us knew, the financial aspect has become the first major foremost aspects to consider since the 1st ed of Project Manager Book of Knowledge published, and keep going. The second variable is the social aspect, why social aspect mentioned?
The way we communicate by using technology becomes more easiest and cheap, but it also diminishes our inner character as zoon politikon. There are movements, the way we interact in our society using the exponential growth of the internet and technology. This will be quite more complicated for the decision maker. The way we take decisions become sophisticated, involved by the persons with their new behavior using smartphone more frequently than interacting one by one with each other. We need to deep understanding about new psychological trends, the way to communicate, and even the way we negotiate through the new platform.
Another aspect to consider is the environment. Every determination for infrastructure plan should consider the environmental effect. Until this time around, we received so many reports about environmental issues, and also global warming. If we care enough, we can start any innovations to resolve this problem or find out strategy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Afterwards, we need further contribution of decision-maker in government by providing proper policy regarding the current issues. A great concept, innovation, and solution, just become delusions without policy as the foundation. Within the right policy, the accomplishment of the solutions proposed by the society will be proven.
Metaverse with AI and VR in Project Management
The current (or maybe lately) trends of technology are Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). These technologies become more popular after the rise of the Metaverse concept. In simple words, this is the definition of both item:
AR: additional manipulation of an object
VR: additional manipulation by set aside the world.
Within The rise of AR, it could be easing every engineer and decision maker to be involved directly into the projects. We could see the projection of some products before they really arrived, analyze the problems, and so on. Aside from that, the use of VR could be easier the meeting schedule of the top managers in corporations. Let assume, they could present the meeting just from home (or we call it as WFH (work from home)). Fit in with all attributes needed as the regular offline meetings. Simple, compact, light, but impactful.
Internet of Things & Digital Twin
One of the greatest obstacles while managing projects is the lack of information and situation between the office and the area (project area). Dozens, hundreds, till thousands of years beforehand, communication exists as the main problem in projects. With the advance of technology, this aspect started to be disrupted by the use of Internet of Things (IoT) in managing projects. In simple words, IoT definition is how devices connected with each other in the cloud system. The simplest introduction and implementation of IoT in the projects is the way we use PowerBI, both to analyze the needs and inspect the cycle of projects.
The development of the Digital twin also should be considered as soon as possible. The Digital twin has an orientation to create a digital replica of the existing infrastructure. Those replicas could be used to consider the future needs of the infrastructure and also the troubles too. This should be a nice solution if we can improve it day by day. By maximizing the development of Digital Twin, it becomes the future solution to provide responsive, effective, and early mitigation for infrastructure issues.
In the end, the role of technology in the three aspects above, is just a tool. And as a tool, it needs a subject to use it and back to the human itself. Without the quality of human development and capital in project management. And without a deep understanding about area conditions (especially for projects in outdoor), tools are just a tool and could not benefit us.
Everything about us, and how we defined technology, back to our wise.
